Celebrate Freedom Week through Technology!

Surveys revealing the historical ignorance of "average" U.S. citizens
are well known. According to one, "Only one in two Americans know how
many senators there are; Two in five don't know the federal government
has three branches, let alone what they are (Executive, Legislative, Judicial)...Twenty
percent cannot name any of the First Amendment rights and only 6 percent
can name all five (freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion and to
petition the Government for a redress of grievances)...Also, 16 percent
incorrectly think the Constitution declares Christianity the official
U.S. religion....Thirty-five percent incorrectly think the document declares
English the premier language." 1 Misconceptions
abound about the history of our nation, and our politicians have responded.

In late Spring 2001, the Texas legislature and governor voted and signed
House Bill 1776, designating the last full week of classes in September
as "Celebrate Freedom Week" in public schools. This act takes effect on
September 1, 2001, and affects grades K-12. The goal of this legislation
is "To educate students about the sacrifices made for freedom in the founding
of this country and the values on which this country was founded." This
article describes five different technology infused activities that can
be used to meet the requirements of this new educational law, and utilize
a wealth of internet content in dynamic and motivational lessons for students.
A copy of this article, including links to all referenced lesson ideas,
is available on http://www.wtvi.com/teks/freedom.

The Celebrate Freedom Week legislation states "Instruction should include
study of:

The intent, meaning, and importance of the Declaration of Independence
and the United States Constitution, including the Bill of Rights, in
their historical context.

The study of the Declaration of Independence should include the relationship
of the ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history,
including but not limited to:

The relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people
as a nation of immigrants,

The American Revolution,

The formulation of the United States Constitution,

The abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation
and the women's suffrage movement."

Additionally, the text of the law provides that "During Celebrate Freedom
Week, a school district "MAY REQUIRE" students in grades 3-12 to study
the introductory paragraph of the Declaration of Independence.2

These curriculum objectives are certainly ambitious for a single week
of instruction, including study of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution,
the Abolitionist movement, the Emancipation Proclamation, and the Women's
Suffrage movement. The text of the law requires students learn about "the
historical context" of these events, going beyond the simple memorization
of events and dates that some people often mistake for "history." Although
these topics are wide ranging and may seem intimidating, given the time
constraints, the wide variety of topic choices can serve as a motivating
factor in student lessons and invigorate classroom learning with concepts
and facts novel to students and teachers alike.

To realize these goals, five different technology infused lesson ideas
are suggested below for teacher use. These can be modified depending on
the grade level and availability of technology within the classroom and
school building.

One of the most important things for teachers in the digital age to "get
over" is the idea that the teacher can "know it all." This premise of
traditional lecture based instruction is a fallacy today: there is simply
too much information available on virtually any topic, for anyone (even
at the university level) to be an unquestioned expert on all of it. Researchers
tell us the quantity of information on the internet is doubling in size
(when measured by page content) every 120 days, which conservatively equates
to doubling in size three times per year. This means over 80 percent of
the websites that will be existing a year from now do not exist today!3
In this environment, our challenge as educators is to embrace educational
opportunities using new technologies together with students. By crafting
lessons which engage students in collaborative work involving problem
solving and creative thinking, we can invigorate the learning process
and develop technology literacy skills alongside traditional curricular
ones.

Lesson Idea #1: Brainstorm with Inspiration

Whenever a teacher starts a new lesson sequence and prepares for whole-class
concept development, it is often a good idea to learn what students' current
knowledge and perceptions are about the topic of study. This not only
helps the teacher identify key concepts students are either ignorant of
or have misconceptions about, but also identifies students with deeper
levels of knowledge about topics who can serve as mentors during class
lessons.

Inspiration software is one of the best tools available for facilitating
whole class brainstorming. After downloading and installing a demo version
from the web if it is not already installed on the classroom teacher computer
(http://www.inspiration.com),
launch the program and type one of the main Freedom Week concepts into
the Inspiration main idea symbol, like "Declaration of Independence."
Before students begin brainstorming, rules should be provided to insure
there is a free flow of ideas without students feeling intimidated or
put down. The RODENT rules include:

R - Rapid --
Brainstorm and write down as many ideas as rapidly as possible

O - Outrageous Ideas -- Nothing is too
far fetched, because a really wild or silly idea may lead to something
else realistic.

E - Exaggerate -- Piggyback on someone
else's idea, or exaggerate it in any way. No ownership of ideas.

N - Numerous -- Get as many ideas recorded
as possible within the time provided.

T - Time phased -- Use a timer that all
can hear, and brainstorm for no more than 2 minutes. If the ideas are
still flowing, add one more minute. Then add one more minute if needed.
If there aren't very many ideas, then there's likely some agreement
on the focus.4

Inspiration is ideal for brainstorming, particularly with the RODENT
rules, because they also require that all ideas be written down as they
are stated (and not edited by the writer) where everyone can see them.
Even if a teacher does not have a large screen TV or LCD projector in
his/her classroom all the time for use as a computer projection device,
one can sometimes be checked out from the library or the district media
office for the occasion.

After explaining the rules for brainstorming and typing the first topic,
the teacher (or computer typing designee) should click the RAPID FIRE
button in Inspiration and start the timer. Students should brainstorm
all the words or concepts they know or have heard about related to the
topic. It often helps to have one person typing and another facilitating
the brainstorming, but this certainly isn't mandatory. Yes, words will
be misspelled when ideas are rapidly being put on the screen, but that
is OK: spelling and syntax can be addressed later. The main idea of this
activity is to remember the N of "RODENT:" Numerous ideas on the screen.
After each new idea is typed, pressing the return/enter key will create
a new idea symbol within Inspiration off the main topic for the typed
word or phrase, and create a new empty one for the next idea.

Other words/phrases that could be brainstormed include "U.S. Constitution,"
"Immigration," "Slavery," "Abolitionists," "Women's Suffrage," and "Bill
of Rights." After each brainstorming session, RODENT rules suggest a discussion
and clarification period, when people can clarify what they meant or others
can ask questions. Some ideas can be combined if appropriate at this point.
Inspiration allows idea bubbles to be moved underneath others, by clicking
on the linking line and moving one of its end "handles" to another bubble.

After brainstorming and discussing/clarifying, use the ARRANGE button
within Inspiration to create a more organized presentation of the classes'
ideas. Toggle between the graphical and outline views of the brainstormed
material. Copies can be printed for student reference, or the material
can be exported as a graphics file for later use within a presentation
or on a webpage. Brainstormed ideas can provide a basis for initial student
research efforts, either individually or in groups.

This activity can be used effectively again during the evaluation phase
of a lesson, when students can compare their post-lesson understanding
and knowledge of studied concepts to those they brain stormed at the beginning.

Inspiration is available for both Windows and Macintosh computers, and
educational licensing is available.

Lesson Idea #2 Curriculum Supplement / Hotlist

Traditional classroom curriculum materials, including textbooks and library
books, are usually limited in supply and the number of perspectives they
offer to students. The internet, however, can be harvested to provide
a rich and wide variety of curricular supplements for Freedom Week studies.
An extensive Freedom Week Internet Resource Hotlist is available on http://www.wtvi.com/teks/freedom.
Samples of some of the resources included on this hotlist include:

"Charters of Freedom" exhibit by The National Archives
and Records Administration, including the Declaration of Independence,
The US Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Includes high resolution
images of each page of these documents, as well as extensive background
information and further links of interest. - http://www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/charters.html

"Africans in America: America's Journey Through Slavery" is
presented in four parts on this PBS website. A historical Narrative,
a Resource Bank of images, documents, stories, biographies, and commentaries,
and a Teacher's Guide for using the content of the website and television
series in U.S. history courses is included for each era. - http://web-cr05.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html

"The Susan B. Anthony Center for Women's Leadership: History of
Women's Suffrage" includes information about Susan B. Anthony and
Elizabeth Cady Stanton, biographies of other influential suffragists,
the Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY, and suffrage time
lines. - http://www.rochester.edu/SBA/history.html

"The American Colonist's Library" lists links to an extensive
collection of primary source documents, including many from the American
Revolutionary period. Includes works by Benjamin Franklin, George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and many others. - http://personal.pitnet.net/primarysources/

Resources on the websites included in this hotlist can be utilized as
supplements when teaching about different topics during Freedom Week (in
direct instruction), or utilized during student projects. If used for
direct instruction, consider making "offline copies" of webpages to insure
reliable and fast display of web content, and avoid waiting for a slow
internet connection with an impatient class! Instructions on how to do
this are available in "Webpages to Go: Offline with Internet Explorer"
on http://www.wtvi.com/teks/00_01_articles/webpagestogo.html.
For tips on locating other educational websites relevant to Celebrate
Freedom week, refer to "Tips for Locating Websites" on http://www.wtvi.com/teks/integrate/tcea2001/locatingwebsites.html.

Lesson Idea #3: Student Center Activities

Although computer prices have come down considerably (with corresponding
increases in processing power following Moore's law), students in most
classrooms still face access issues: there are usually not enough computers
to go around. Because of this, teachers must be creative in devising lessons
students can complete at the computer individually or with a small group
on a rotational basis.

Of the many free educational resources proliferating online over, one
of the best is Quia.com (www.quia.com). Quia allows teachers to create
customized web based activities for students, including matching, flashcard,
concentration, and word search lessons. Quizzes and class homepages can
also be made using a web browser interface: no webpage creating skills,
coding, or otherwise technical skills are needed! Other activity options
include challenge board, hangman, jumbled words, mini quiz, ordered list,
picture perfect, popups, rags to riches, and scavenger hunt.

Rather than creating customized activities at first, try searching activities
that have already been created and posted online by other educators. Clicking
on the HISTORY category from the Quia.com homepage reveals the following
activity:

US History - Colonial Challenge! Try to reach $1,000,000! Answer
a range of easy to difficult questions and test your knowledge of early
US history! - http://www.quia.com/rr/4049.html

It took approximately 30 minutes to create a new 20 question activity
on Quia.com about the Declaration of Independence, using the "Jumbled
Words" activity structure. Access it on:

Students are asked to read a phrase and decipher missing words in this
activity. Some phrases are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence,
and others are trivia facts relating to the Declaration or the Continental
Congress which composed and signed it. As students answer questions, a
progress bar is displayed on the left side of the screen indicating how
many questions have been answered and how many remain. After completing
the activity, a results page is displayed which can be printed if desired.

Quia.com is certainly not the only web source for good student center
computer activities. Another superb resource is Trackstar (http://trackstar.hprtec.org/).
It is searchable by keyword and allows teachers to submit their own lessons.
Projects tend to be more involved than those on Quia.com, but are generally
not as interactive:

Lesson Idea #4: Scavenger Hunt

An internet scavenger hunt is a good way to introduce students to a topic
using internet content, but by itself can encourage rather superficial
interaction with curriculum content rather than thoughtful, original thinking.
Still, scavenger hunts have value and can be fun as well as motivational
for students.

Scavenger hunts come in many varieties, but the general idea is for students
to answer questions using content found on internet websites. An example
of a scavenger hunt allowing students to directly type answers onto an
internet webpage, and later print the page with completed answers, is
"Searching Through Our Historical Documents," available on http://scavengerhunt.lee.k12.nc.us/historicaldocs/index.htm.
This scavenger hunt includes fifteen questions about the Declaration of
Independence, Constitution, Emancipation Proclamation, and Gettysburg
Address.

Another scavenger hunt example is "Hunt for our African American Legacy:
an Internet Treasure Hunt on The Legacy of Slavery" available on http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/huntlegacyomr.html.
Questions from this hunt can be copied and pasted into a word processing
document by individual students or student groups, and answers inserted
after referring to provided websites.

Rather than having students complete a scavenger hunt, teachers may consider
having students create an original scavenger hunt for others. This was
the task given to students at Albemarle High School (Virginia), and the
result (Albemarle High School's Government Scavenger Hunt) is available
on http://k12.albemarle.org/ss/ahsgov/scavenger.htm.
This activity can be a collaborative venture including multiple classes
or just one. Each class could be assigned a different topic from Celebrate
Freedom Week. After creating scavenger hunts, students could be required
to complete those created by other classes or students.

Lesson Idea #5: Brochure or Multimedia Presentation

If time and available computer resources permit, students can create
different products to demonstrate their understanding of Freedom Week
curriculum. Biographical sketches are an ideal assignment, since students
can research different people and then report back to the class with their
results. Use of primary sources (actual diaries, letters, and other first
person accounts) is one of the most effective ways to help students "connect"
with a historical era. A school-wide Freedom Week Media Fair could be
the culminating event of student research and writing, with brochures,
multimedia slide shows, and websites showcased for parents and other students
to view and enjoy.

When structuring these assignments, it is helpful to give students guidelines
that encourage them to research and write the textual content of their
product FIRST, and focus on the fonts, colors, sounds, transitions, animations,
etc. SECOND. Without proper guidelines, students will often attend to
these tasks in the reverse order. Having students take notes first on
paper, and then compose sentences / paragraphs from those notes (and not
directly from copied/pasted internet information) can encourage students
to process information and also reduce temptations/opportunities for plagiarism.

For multimedia slide shows, provide students with worksheets to "storyboard"
their presentation first, making a visual diagram of their slides including
planned content and presentation order. Students should focus on chunking
their ideas into digestible pieces. After text is keyboarded in, students
should begin locating photos and other graphics to complement their included
text. Teach students at the start of the project how to properly document
bibliographic sources, and insist this documentation take place continually
as students perform research and find multimedia elements to include in
their product. Suggested formats for proper citation are available on
"Internet Citation Guides" from the University of Wisconsin-Madison on
http://www.library.wisc.edu/libraries/Memorial/citing.htm.

Celebrate Freedom!

As citizens of the United States, we have a unique heritage of which
we should be knowledgeable and proud. By using some of the lesson ideas
presented here, hopefully students can not only become better informed
about the values underlying many of the important historical documents
of the United States, but also become motivated to learn more about those
events and people and share that knowledge with others!